Official weight loss for January is 10.5 kg/23 lbs.Official weight loss for February is 3.5kg/7.5 lbsTotal weight loss for 2012 is 14kg/30.5 lbs

Next official weigh-in April 1st.

Feeling so much better today. I dropped the increased medication yesterday morning, had a restful day and then missed my evening medication. The last was not intentional but I forgot until it was too late at night. Better to skip a dose than end up over medicated again.

I know it's not the best to tinker with medication but I am definitely not going to take the increased dose of felodipine, (or plendil 2.5mg), for the next few days. I have learned so much about blood pressure and I'm convinced there is a tendency to over prescribe medication. My doctor was quite relaxed about my blood pressure until she thought I'd had a small stroke. I believe a healthy BP is somewhere around 150/80 for my age. For some reason recent guidelines suggest it should be closer to 120/80 hence increased medication to achieve the ideal goal. I have been very casual about the numbers until now, thinking I could trust the medical people to do worrying. Now I'm not so sure.

My symptoms look less and less like a small stroke. Had the facial paralysis been caused by an event in my brain it would have to be very small to affect me in the limited the way it has and I would expect those symptoms to have reduced over the last 6 weeks. In fact the opposite has happened. The paralysis has become more confirmed and continues to be limited to one side of my face. This is more typical of Bells Palsy, It is thought that an inflammatory condition leads to swelling of the facial nerve. The nerve travels through the skull in a narrow bone canal beneath the ear. Nerve swelling and compression in the narrow bone canal are thought to lead to nerve inhibition, damage or death. No readily identifiable cause for Bell's palsy has been found.from Wikipedia. There is a lot of information in other places including the probability that it is caused by a virus such as herpes simplex or cold sores, the bane of my life when my body came under stress. The prognosis is 'a maybe' although many people lose the majority of symptoms over a 12 month period. I am hopeful.

Bells Palsy is diagnosed by ruling out the possibility of stroke and or brain tumour. I am having tests on April 10th and 11th which will settle these questions.... I hope. Meantime I will follow my doctor's instructions as best I can. I am not a medical person although I had some training and exposure as a young person. My conclusions could be wrong but it's my body and I know how it feels, which is not always easy to describe until I see the symptoms listed and recognise them as something I am experiencing.

Pre-Breakfast:- Water.

Breakfast:- Water.Strawberry tea. smoothie = 20gm carb.

Snack 1:-Strawberry tea

Lunch:-Restaurant lunch. It's a lovely day so we walked across the road to the small shopping centre and had lunch at Peppers Cafe. I had a cappuccino with sugar, and Morrocan flavoured chicken salad. I couldn't eat it all so John finished it off. John had seafood chowder with buttered toast. So I did well. Probably = 14gm carb or even less.

Reporting Back ..........We enjoyed having lunch in the Cafe and I've wasted away the day looking for a photo. Neither of us felt like a proper dinner so got our own according to what we each wanted. That was our day.I believe some of our family might want to do something special for our 50th anniversary next year. I don't want to put on a brave face for a family gathering so I think John and I should save up and make other plans. Maybe we should take a mini cruise around New Zealand. I know John would like that.

How did I do?Not bad except for no exercise. Even so I'm ready for bed.

Official weight loss for January is 10.5 kg/23 lbs.Official weight loss for February is 3.5kg/7.5 lbsTotal weight loss for 2012 is 14kg/30.5 lbs

Next official weigh-in April 1st.

Not walking this morning because I woke up with nausea and went back to bed for a while. I suspect a drop in blood pressure so small adjustment being made today. My medication was increased last Tuesday and I've felt less well ever since so I'm going back to the pre-increase dose. It would be good if we lived closer to the Medical Centre. I would get my BP checked now but by the time I'm organised and travel it just won't be the same. Hoping as the day goes along that I'll improve. I stayed quiet for a while this morning so breakfast is closer to 11 am.

I haven't done anything today except try to educate myself on health matters. I am very concerned that traditional blood pressure treatment could have long term health costs without reducing whatever risk I have for heart attack and even stroke. I have come to the conclusion that I keep doing what I'm doing, keep learning, and add in suitable supplements, including omega 3 and CoQ10, and stay on good terms with my doctor. Hopefully as I continue to walk regularly and eat healthily and lose weight consistently my body will respond happily so that medication can be reduced. I have read nothing that tells me the medications are not poisonous. Our modern lifestyle and medicine are often amazing but can also be deadly. I want quality of life, not survival with a generally chronic grottiness.

How did I do?

Food and drink OK. Feeling a lot better. Hope I wake up to being my normal self.

Beach walk, about 3.7km. Feet and ankles sore. Eye painful. Even with dark glasses the sun and wind irritate. I might have to work out a way to tape it closed some of the time.

I am aiming to walk 3 km or more each day this month.

54.5/93 km for March

Reporting Back ..........

I did tape my eye closed for about half the day and it certainly helped a lot. It's really weird to have bits of my face not working properly. My mouth makes strange shapes, my bottom eyelid is hanging loose, some letters are becoming harder to enunciate, especially b, v, and f, food can get stuck in a corner of my mouth, one side of my lips don't hold the cup rim firmly so I hold my bottom lip up with my finger or dribble. I believe it will heal but in the meantime it's weird. I'm glad I can't see it all the time. Looking in the mirror once or twice a day is bad enough.

How to ruin a good taste!

I found this really tasty looking recipe for chicken drumsticks that had herbs, lemon, olive oil, and cajun spices. Our daughter-in-law cooks drums all the time but they have never been one of my favourite foods until I tasted hers. All went well until I went to put the spice jar away and saw I'd just added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon instead of cajun. I did a feeble rescue job by adding pepper and cajun seasoning. Unfortunately the cinnamon remained almost overwhelming. I will read the label before I add next time. At least they were tender and juicy.

How did I do?

A lovely quiet day. Bright sunshine. John mowed the lawns. My ankles are stiff and my feet sore. Do I try to walk through it or do I need some massage? I've done this to myself in the past and the pain and stiffness sabotaged my waling plans. Won't be shopping for a while but when next in town I think I should get some peppermint creme to massage in.

Longer than usual walk to estuary = 5.8 kmI am aiming to walk 3 km or more each day this month.

51.8/93 km for March

Reporting Back ..........

I took my time this morning and walk further than normal because it's a beautiful day and I had nothing else on until after lunch, when I had an appointment in town and we would stock up on a few groceries again.

Well that's what I thought. I arrived back needing to have my breakfast only to be told The real estate agent was coming at 11 am to take photographs. John had done a couple of things .... but you know most men! They do not see the point of clearing benches or shifting stuff so there will be the best possible photos ever. I did have my breakfast sort of on the move, issuing orders as I went. Keith arrived with his camera on the dot and laughed at us as I shifted banana boxes of Mum's stuff from one place to another. When it was all over we put the boxes back in the smallest bedroom and began the task of finding the bits and pieces we use everyday .... like my laptop.

Keith seemed happy with the photos although I wish I'd had the garden in better shape. Maybe I can get him back when it is.

It's now time to get tea and I'm keeping it simple. I'm wishing I'd bought sausages but bacon is quick.

John is pumping up the exercise ball we bought using a voucher. It will be interesting to see how much it helps improve our posture and strength.

How did I do?

A pretty good day except that I forgot to make some phone calls. Too late now, time for bed.

Official weight loss for January is 10.5 kg/23 lbs.Official weight loss for February is 3.5kg/7.5 lbsTotal weight loss for 2012 is 14kg/30.5 lbs

Next official weigh-in April 1st.

I notice I have past the 84th day without wheat, well almost without wheat. I read somewhere a while ago that changing a habit takes an average of 66 days with some people taking a possible 284 days so I still have a possible 200 days or so before I can say I have broken my bread habit. Walking or some other kind of daily exercise might take a little longer.

Pre-Breakfast:- Water.

Breakfast:- Water.Strawberry tea.Smoothie = carbs. 20gm

Snack 1:-Strawberry tea

Lunch:-Spinach, roasted red capsicum, onion and spinach frittata. This frittata has bread in it. I think I'll have a go at making it bread free although the amount of bread per serving is less than a whole slice. We use home made breads and I didn't bother to weigh it so guessing. Serving of frittata = 20 carbs strawberry tea

Daily Goal:-1.5 lt. or 5 - 6 large cups *yes/no* not properly recorded

Exercise:-15 minutes walk *yes*

3.5km right after breakfast. Felt like a long way and I take nearly 4 x as long as average!

Afternoon walk with Jane and John add 1 km.

I am aiming to walk 3 km or more each day this month.

46/93 km for March

Plus 2 other days, exercycle or cross-trainer

Reporting Back ..........

Had a nice afternoon with Jane including another walk along the beach.

I did have a problem with nausea for a while at a critical time when I was preparing the frittata. I ended up getting it to the point where John could finish and put it in the oven. Absolutely delicious and I have kept myself a serving for lunch tomorrow. Baby spinach frittata here.

Our house is now officially up for sale. Here's hoping it does not take the estimated 12 months average to sell.

How did I do?

Apart from struggling to prepare lunch it's been a very good day.

I'd like my carbs a bit lower but the frittata was a little bit high. I might need to have a carb free meal soon. Hoping the extra walking today will keep things ticking along.

Official weight loss for January is 10.5 kg/23 lbs.Official weight loss for February is 3.5kg/7.5 lbsTotal weight loss for 2012 is 14kg/30.5 lbs

Next official weigh-in April 1st.

Heck! Another wet day! I am determined to take a walk so hope it clears up as forecast.

I have adjusted my weight loss ticker.... couldn't wait another day. So impatient of me. Everyday I wake up with the expectation of a little more fat gone forever. It's a good feeling. Needs to be since this is only day 5 of 42 day LFL program. I am barely in ketosis so I need that 1 hour walk I planned.

It's good to be losing belly fat too. And I feel cleaner somehow by not eating grains and sugar.

The sun came out and it's been a nice day but I felt sick again. I think I must be more careful about the timing of my medication. I will take it when I'm halfway through my breakfast and see if that makes a difference. It has been my habit to take all the morning pills while I'm making breakfast. Finally began to feel better late afternoon. I hate nausea. It seems to paralyse me. I rest my way through sipping water from time to time, because any standing and movement makes it so much worse.

How did I do?

OK I did get some exercise even if it was for a much shorter time.

Need to be well tomorrow as preparing a nice lunch for our daughter and some house tidying needed also.

Great nausea free day. I was so anxious, worrying about the return of nausea I had a very slow start to the day and no walk. I did do a little weeding this afternoon. The first I've been able to do in a month.

And we have rain again tonight. We did have a reasonably sunny day.

How did I do?

I'm calling today a success even though I didn't go for a walk. I will be walking tomorrow morning.

Not eating was not part of my plan but I'll go with it but hopefully will feel normal again tomorrow. Not drinking is a little more difficult to pass off. I really must make an effort especially when one of my BP medications is also a diuretic.

Disappointing doctor's visit. I'm to increase one of my blood pressure pills. Today's reading 150/80. Doesn't sound too terrible to me but I guess this is what happens when you are being treated to minimise the risk of stroke. I'll be so glad when I've had a good chat with the specialist in 2.3 weeks. Although I am prepared to find he/she is more drug orientated than general health.

This was a very small serve and not my full planned meal because I had a rare attack of gastro pain earlier today. No idea what caused it but it left me drained. I used to associate this pain with eating wheat but that is not so this time. Some kind of upset tummy, feeling better now. strawberry and mango tea.

Snack 3:-Water

Carbohydrates:- 33 grams/2 oz. or less.

That seems ridiculous to me. I've never converted my carbohydrate grams previously. I can't believe I'm eating such a small amount.

Government Departments make me mad! What a lot of messing around today because the woman helping me reckoned the Optician was not on their data base. After a lot of questions, waiting about and too-ing and fro-ing between the Optician's office and WINZ, who administer Govt Superannuation, all was sorted and I have a new appointment next Tuesday. What a waste of everyone's time. I feel as thought we wasted our trip into town although we did a few other things all of which involved money we didn't want to spend. Left the grocery shopping until tomorrow since I have to go back to town to see my doctor.

My New Laptop is in big trouble. One day last week it slipped off the table I had it on and may be broken, needing a new hard-drive. We chose to pay a high excess on our house insurance so .... I'll be lucky if it's worth making a claim. Know more tomorrow.

How did I do?

Good day except for not walking and feeling unwell in varying degrees. Good thing is I'm off to bed early.

One thing that has surprised me as I've prepared my/our meals is this discovery. By taking wheat out of my diet I am generally eating low carb anyway. Being more aware of the amount of carbohydrates I eat just cleans things up, ensuring I don't let the amount creep up.

"THE PAIN OF DISCPLINE OR THE PAIN OF REGRET AND DISAPPOINTMENT" - IT'S MY CHOICE

DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM

About Me

I am in my 78th year and live in New Zealand. In 2013 my husband, John, and I spent our 50th Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii. We have a major trip to North America planned for 2018
I have a long history of losing and gaining weight. I first began keeping an on-line journal around 2000 as a way to record my weight loss and quest for better health.
We moved to Christchurch in December 2015 to be near our only Grandchild. Ava -Jane is a wonderful gift to our family.
Life is full of the unexpected.
I am all about having some fun times this year.